31 Day Yoga Project: Week 1

Oiy vey.

This week. I just. Real life gets in the way of fun some times.

Things have been progressing very slowly with this project. Which I guess in a way is o.k.

At one point, I had thought about trying to tackle baby grasshopper instead of Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana for this project, but managed to tweak something in my wrist. Sadly this made any attempt at any pose requires my hands/wrists was impossible. But that's o.k. I need to remind myself that building a good base is better than mastering some of these harder poses.

Having said that though, trying to find time for yoga has been difficult. I managed practice 4 days this week, which was a total win. After a 4 day weekend, getting back in the swing of things with work and hitting the gym were a tad difficult so I didn't spend as much time doing yoga or working on my core strength as much as I wanted to.

But, it's a new week and another chance to focus on working on the pose and working on building some strength and flexibility. 

31 Day Yoga Project: Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana

Two challenges in one month?

Yes. I have officially lost my mind.

One of my go-to places on the web if I have questions about most things yoga related is Yoga by Candace. The videos she does on YouTube are easy to follow and the info she posts on her website/blog on various poses, sequences, etc. are extremely helpful.

So I was really excited when she posted that during the month of January, she was hosting a 31 day yoga project and this months "theme" is Strength. As she puts it on her blog:

That's right people, we are looking to get strong. Why? 
For so many reasons. Let me count the ways. 
building strength may help to prevent injury
building core strength may alleviate minor back pain and sciatica
building upper body and core strength may improve your posture
building strength may burn fat, if you're looking to tone up
building strength may fuel the progress in our practice

Here is the Deal:
--Pick one strength pose to work on: As much as I'd like to dive right in and try to master baby grasshopper, I'm not sure that is wise. Instead I'll be working on Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana or Standing Big Toe Yoga pose. Seems simple, right? But oh how I wish it was! It's a favorite pose of the instructor who teaches the yoga class I take on Sundays and dammit if I don't always have to hold onto the wall OR put my foot on a ledge every stinkin' time we do it.
--Make a Plan: Thankfully this is going to be the easiest part of the whole thing! I've already committed to myself to practice yoga daily, so this won't be to hard to do! I just need to find sequences that will help build my core strength and work on my flexibility and plan on practicing for 30-60 mins 5 times a week. The other two days will be gentle flow.

I'm really looking forward to taking on this "project" and using it as a way to really focus on my strength and flexibility. 

Wanna Be Yogi

I have been practicing yoga on and off since my early 20s.

Previously, my "sessions" had been done solo using a dvd, YouTube or most recently Hulu. It was o.k. but I never really felt like I was getting much out of it.

But a few months ago, following a suggestion by Drew, I started attending a yoga class at my gym to supplement my training sessions.

Taking a class made a HUGE difference in how I approached my yoga practice and how I felt afterwards.

I quickly found that even though I was only going once a week, my whole body felt "off" if I missed a class.  Those extra stretches and holding poses were doing wonders for my flexibility (I've always has ridiculously tight hamstrings) and  taking that time to focus inward and being present in the moment was helping my overall mood.

Recently, I have started doing yoga at home again. For 30 to 45 minutes in the evening, I have been working through sessions to help keep my legs loose and fresh after a run. Thanks to my very helpful yoga instructor, I have also started working on putting my own sessions/sequences together to focus on the areas I need to work on the most.

It has been an amazing experience learning the benefits of each pose, how the poses fit together and how to move from pose to pose. It has definitely made me look at my practice in a whole new way and where I want to go with is in the future.

And yes, drawing out each sequence using stick figures is a pretty fun bonus to this project!